Inhabitots | Your guide to green parenting, eco baby & green kids

6-Sided Pencil Dice by Sebastian Bergne Make Homework More Fun

by Desmond Williams, 06/02/12 filed under: green kids, green toys

They’re pencils. They’re dice. They’re pencil dice! Each of the pencil’s six side’s has the distinctive dotted markings of one side of a die. Honestly there isn’t much more to say about these clever novelties created by designer Sebastian Bergne … other than stating the obvious fact that not much homework would get done with these writing tools lying around (unless homework involves probability of course). Each of the pencil’s six side’s has the distinctive dotted markings of one side of a die.

+ Pencil Dice £1.60

+ Sebastian Bergne

Adorable Handmade Binu Natural Soap Makes Bath Time Fun

by Michelle Lloyd, 06/01/12 filed under: eco toddler, green family, green kids

Binu Natural Soap designs adorable hand-poured all-natural soaps for children, adults, and toddlers ages 24 months and up. They have 13 different natural color collections to choose from ranging from sherbert, lime, oat bran, aqua, sea, garden, rose and more. They also have over 20 designs from the adorable hippos pictured above to baby shoes that will accommodate the whole family while making bath time or hand washing loads of fun.

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WEB PREMIER: What Do I Think of Fashion? 8-Year-Old Girls Talk Style

by Desmond Williams, 06/01/12 filed under: education, green family, green kids, interview, kids clothing, video

Have you ever wondered what young girls really think about fashion? The answer may surprise you. In this short documentary, I allow six 8-year-old girls to take the soapbox (or apple box in this case) and hold forth on the subject of fashion. I don’t pretend to know what goes on in the mind of an 8-year-old girl – I give props to anyone who does – but I had an inkling that as the daily lives of children become more inundated with media of various forms, girls start forming opinions at a very young age about what society thinks they should look like and how they should behave. I thought it would be near impossible to broach the subject in all of its complex entirety and so I decided to focus on the most obvious, forward facing facet of life little girls battle with: fashion.

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Mom Designs Green Gamboni Organic Jeans For Babies and Toddlers

by Michelle Lloyd, 06/01/12 filed under: eco baby clothing, eco toddler, green baby, kids clothing

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Flame Retardants Found in Peanut Butter, Fish and Meat

by Jennifer Chait, 05/31/12 filed under: food, green family, green kids, health & body, kids health, news, toxins

Childs lunch – Image from Shutterstock

The last thing your kid’s PB&J needs are flame retardants. Really, has a PB&J at your house ever burst into flames? However, new research published in Environmental Health Perspectives has revealed that many foods, including your creamy peanut butter, contain hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), a brominated flame retardant used in polystyrene foams in thermal insulation and electrical equipment. If you’re shocked, we’d be surprised. It’s no big secret that there are some truly horrid contaminates in the American food supply. From rodent hair to beetle parts to GMOs to arsenic to substances from a beaver’s anal gland, it would seem you can’t eat anything anymore without having to worry. But flame retardants in basic foods, pretty much takes the cake. According to the research team who discovered the flame retardants in food, health concerns of HBCD exposure include alterations in immune and reproductive systems, neurotoxic effects, and endocrine disruption. The study shows that HBCD levels were highest in canned sardines, fresh salmon, peanut butter and tilapia but canned chili and sliced ham, turkey, chicken and other deli meats also contained noticeable levels of this flame retardant.

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Twig by Boon Adds a Splash of Sophistication to Your Drying Rack

by Jennifer Chait, 05/31/12 filed under: baby feeding, green baby

Boon’s wonderfully innovative Lawn Countertop Drying Rack was already awesome, but now they’ve made it even better with an accessory add-on, Twig. Twig adds more room to your Lawn or Grass countertop drying rack allowing you to dry small baby bottle and sippy cup parts, while leaving space underneath for larger dishes. Plus, planting Twig in the middle of your rack adds a pop of lovely sophistication to your rack. In warm gray or crystal clear white, Twig is sure to match any modern decor theme you’ve got going on in your kitchen. Like all Boon products, Twig is BPA-free, phthalate-free and PVC-free. Great for tree-lovers or folks who simply need more space!

+ Twig $5.99

+ Boon